


Homecomings

by Marta



Category: Lord of the Rings (2001 2002 2003), Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Drabble Sequence, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, POV First Person, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-05-20
Updated: 2005-05-19
Packaged: 2017-10-17 02:11:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/171851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marta/pseuds/Marta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of the Fellowship, one did not survive the War of the Ring and another had no parents in Middle-earth. But what about the remaining seven? This drabble focuses on the thoughts of the fathers (or foster-fathers) of the surviving Fellowship, on seeing their sons for the first time after the Quest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Many sons of Isildur have passed through my house, but you were the first I considered my own. I remember that evening when you arrived, wet from the rain, crying and confused.

I can hardly reconcile that memory with the man standing before me. The years were not over-kind, yet you have persevered -- and conquered.

I grasp your hand and you pull me into an embrace. It is good to feel your warmth, to know you are well. Glad of face, kingly and, in your eyes, I see it: you are ready to assume your heritage. Estel has become Elessar.


	2. Gimli

You stand before me, and for a moment I am blind to the elf behind you.

Then I see. Ai, son, must you befriend his son? Of all those you met on your travels?

Yet you breathe. That is more than many fathers can say. And your axe is dented, and repaired with man-tools, but we shall fix it aright. Other things cannot be so easily mended; I will try to accept them.

The tall one bows before me until our eyes are level, offering the customary greeting. For your sake, son, I try not to growl my "and your family's".


	3. Legolas

I saw your grandfather die before Mordor, and when word came from Elrond I feared you would meet the same fate. The Valar have been kind; you return to me nearly unscathed.

Yet not wholly. Think you I cannot recognize sickness for the sea? So many of our kindred heard the cursed gulls' cry in that first battle, and I see the same signs on you.

Do you feel the Sea's pull yet? You will soon enough, and then you shall be torn from Middle-earth or torn in two. But we shall enjoy the days we have left together.


	4. Sam

A knock at the door. Now who could that be, at this hour? Well, no sense wondering. I pull myself up and walk across the room. Ferdi Hornblower, and Jolly Cotton, and... 

I suck in my breath. Sam? My Sam? No one's had nothing to say 'bout you for many a month! But you sound like Sam, and you look like him, what I can see in this light. You're thinner, though. Too thin. Wish I had a plate o' bacon to give you.

"Well, don't let all the cold air in," I say, and you help me back to my chair.


	5. Pippin

By the stars, you're taller than any hobbit I've ever seen. This is more than a normal tween growth spurt. Do they put something in the water in foreign lands to make you grow taller?

We've had enough gangly Men here. Not in Tookland -- trust us better than that! -- but the rest of the Shire has seen too many.

Yet you are no Man. I see the twinkle in your eyes and know that you're still my son. While many things are different, and we'll smoke many pipes together until I've heard them all, that hasn't changed. It never will.


	6. Frodo

"Bilbo! Uncle Bilbo!" 

I force my sleepy eyes open. What's this? Hobbits! Four of them. The four Elrond sent off on my adventure. 

And there you stand, Frodo-lad. My heart drops in my chest to see your damaged hand. The job's finished, then? The Ring's gone? But it didn't release you easily. Couldn't you cast it away at the end? I don't know if I could have either. 

Now is not the time for tears or might-have-beens. I'll give you a pat on the back, if it will ease your heart.

"Hullo, hullo! So you've come back? And tomorrow's my birthday, too."


	7. Merry

I'm sorry I wasn't here to welcome you; we rode the High Hay all afternoon. 

I hardly expected to see you again, with Crickhollow destroyed. We cried our tears, but then dried our cheeks. Those were busy days.

Now you return to us. Your foreign cloak hangs by the door, your arm rests at an odd angle against your chest. There is some tale to be told! And I will hear it, soon. 

But sleep now, son. Breathe in Buckland's air, and know that your father sits by your side.


	8. Acknowledgments

Thank you especially to elliska, who gave me the necessary push to actually get these drabbles on paper, and to Tanaqui, who beta'd them and provided many of the necessary quotes.

And of course thanks to the Professor, whose scenes (both told and untold) inspire us all so much.


End file.
